SERIES ON PRAYER: "CREDIBILITY OF THE CONSECRATED"

One of the Webster’s dictionary definitions of the word “Consecrate” (a verb) is “to devote to a purpose with or as if with deep solemnity or dedication”. There are other definitions of the word, but this one applies perfectly to what Scripture requires of the Child of God. It also ties right in with the Biblical word, used by the Lord, for the same word “consecrate”. The original Hebrew word is “Qadash” which literally means to dedicate, purify or cleanse oneself, the purpose of which is to achieve the Holiness of God in our lives, so our prayers reach Heaven at warp speed.

The bible says in Leviticus 20:7-8 “You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. You shall keep My statutes and practice them; I am the Lord Who sanctifies you”.

To the immature Christian eyes, this sounds “too Old Testament” and for pastors and priests maybe, but not for Mary, Joe or Jenny or Juan. Really? Here is the great Apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:15-16 “…(but) like the Holy One Who called you, be holy yourselves also in your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, as I am holy”.

To be consecrated with the goal of attaining to the holiness of God has everything to do with prayer, even if it does not appear to be, on the surface. The command from God to “consecrate” (NASB) unto the Holiness of Yahweh, needs a closer look. Words mean things and God does not waste one single syllable.

In the original language, consecrate – Qadash – is a verb. Thus, there is an action required from us.  When you expand this command to 1 Peter 15-16 (see above), this action becomes really clear to us. It requires us to watch our conduct, actions, speech, emails, texts, social media postings, videos etc – ANYTHING which reflects on our character.  When something reflects on the character of a child of the Lord, it immediately points to Him.

Therefore, the purpose of this pro-active move (Qadash) is to mind our conduct while growing in spiritual maturity in bible study and fellowship. This is enough to drive us to our knees in prayer.  It is the consecrated woman or man who makes the best prayer warrior. For instance, you will not find someone who is seeking to walk closer to the Savior down at the bar swilling shots with the locals or renting distasteful movies at the video store, in addition to watching R-rated garbage on Netflix or HBO. The consecrated man or woman is actually the person whose reputation as trustworthy, loving, caring and dependable as a praying person whom God listens to, precedes them.

The reason for the Credibility of the Consecrated is Qadosh! Qadosh is the adjective, while Qadash is the verb.  Qadosh means holy, the second part of the command from Leviticus 20:7-8 and 1 Peter 1:15-16. This is the adjective, in this instance, which immaculately defines the permanent attribute of our Heavenly Father. He is holy. Holy means set apart. There is none like Him.

The person who is walking in the fullness of His Word, as prescribed here, is moving in the same direction as the Lord. Here is the amazing thing,  while we can move closer to the KNOWLEDGE of Him as we study His Word – the Bible – it is only through prayer, that we can achieve full relationship.

Qadash and Qadosh are the beginning and end of the power prayer life! We are not passive in this. We must do our part via the steps (consecration) described above.  To emphasize, the equation is this:

• The Holy Spirit lives in us, who are born again.
• The Holy Spirit directs us to the Word of God
• The Word says in many places that we MUST behave ourselves. Why? Because God is Holy
• Conduct becoming a Christian ALWAYS leads us to pray.
• Therefore, let us develop a straight, moral lifestyle, in keeping with Scripture, which will cause us to repent of our shortcomings and move closer towards the Holiness of God
• Closeness to the Fire of His Holiness will purify us, cleanse us and thus consecrate us more and more, as we become more like Him
• Pray as if He is right next to you, looking over your shoulder....because He is
• Conduct of the true Christian leads to a closer walk with Christ, which allows us to pray more like the consecrated man or woman of God, that He has called us to be
• This characteristic in us can then be used by God to pray, intercede and basically, just love others, who are not as sold out yet, as Christ loves them. Amen.

NOW, FAITH IS: PART 3 - "WE BELIEVE THE INVISIBLE..THE INVINCIBLE...THE INEVITABLE"

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible (Hebrews 11:3)

It takes more faith to be an atheist than it does to be a bible-trusting and believing Christian, or follower of Jesus Christ.

To be an atheist means a person has to not just deny their existence but every single thing around them.

To be an atheist, a person has to ignore not just the incredible skies, galaxies and heavenly systems above them, but the rivers which flow into the sea which never overflow.

To be an atheist, a person has to set their entire brain and mind aside and believe one day, nothing existed that there was a huge “big bang” and order came from utter darkness or some such evolutionary fiction.

To be an atheist, a person – some of them so-called scientists who will never okay an experiment, in their own labs, without observing and testing it – have to set their minds, soul and more aside to believe a walking, thinking, feeling two legged human being was a fish or a monkey who “evolved’. Again, this without any scientific proof or their so-called “missing link”.

As an example of inconsistency and worldly folly, let us take the example of the iPhone. It took the Apple Corporation and Steve Jobs, its co-creator, years to come up with a small hand-held computer with and App on it that functions as an actual phone. The majority of the iPhone is a combination of camera, computerized chips which communicate with satellites and applications which bring in all kinds of social media…and more. All of this required fine detailed work of sometimes years, from technicians and high end computer programmers. Not one thing was released that did not past quality control and specifications. Even after the units go public, constant work has to be done by the Apple programmers and techs to maintain their iPhones and their operating systems. Modern men will pay such intense details to these sort of things, but the things which really matter – human life, nature, the galaxies and universe in addition to all matters concerning daily life on planet earth.

Romans 1:18-23 says the following "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

We, who are embedded into the Kingdom know the Truth about Creation. Even if the mechanics are not available to be shared, on this side of Glory, the Holy Spirit within us testifies to the Author of Creation - Yahweh - Jesus, the Son of God. Anyone who denies these Truths, will do well to consider the passage from Romans 1:18-23 and ponder the Coming Day of The Lord, when all will be judged and answered.  

THE MEANING OF LIFE: PART 7 OF 12

                            A CHAPTER BY CHAPTER STUDY OF THE BOOK OF

                                         ECCLESIASTES......CHAPTER 7

                                                "A Good Name is...."

In 1987, former US Labor Secretary under President Ronald Reagan was a man named Ray Donovan. He was the first and only Cabinet official ever indicted for a crime and charged with fraud and more, along with several other construction officials from New York City. The jury took a relatively short time to find them all not-guilty on the first ballot. After the trial, Secretary Donovan made a statement, in the form of a question, which is still quoted today from time to time. He said "which office do I go to to get my reputation back?"

That is a great question in today's hyper-slanderous society, where social media and technology can take a lie half way around the world in 10 seconds and destroy a life time of integrity and honor, wisdom and right living. This is why a "good name is better" than Neo-sporin for that scraped knee or boo-boo from weeding the garden and hitting a rusty metal can deep under the tomato plant. That can be healed, but the damage to one's name is hurtful among other things. This proverb and others are the gist of this chapter of Ecclesiastes where the "preacher" Solomon is teaching many of Life's truth....read and listen, if thou willest....

Ecclesiastes 7

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Wisdom and Folly Contrasted

7 A good name is better than a good ointment,
And the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
Than to go to a house of feasting,
Because [a]that is the end of every man,
And the living [b]takes it to [c]heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter,
For when a face is sad a heart may be happy.
4 The [d]mind of the wise is in the house of mourning,
While the [e]mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.
5 It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man
Than for one to listen to the song of fools.
6 For as the [f]crackling of thorn bushes under a pot,
So is the laughter of the fool;
And this too is futility.
7 For oppression makes a wise man mad,
And a bribe [g]corrupts the heart.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning;
Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.
9 Do not be [h]eager in your heart to be angry,
For anger resides in the bosom of fools.
10 Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.
11 Wisdom along with an inheritance is good
And an advantage to those who see the sun.
12 For wisdom is [i]protection just as money is [j]protection,
But the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors.
13 Consider the work of God,

                        CLICK HERE FOR REST OF CHAPTER

THINK ON THESE THINGS - FRIDAY

STRESSED AND DISTRESSED

Yesterday's message/devotional on "CRUSHING" seemed to have touched a nerve on an issue we must address. There was some amazing response, which you will not see in the comments section of the blog. Therefore, I have postponed the daily look at Hebrews 11 (the Faith Chapter) until Monday. Today, I wish to speak to what is becoming a huge problem in families...and that thing is RESPECT.


My friend Lynn Mosher spoke about the 'Aroma of Crushing'.  It was a beautiful premise which underlined Christ's teaching about the grain of wheat having to fall to the earth and "die" so that beautiful wheat fields can be produced.

What also seems to be dying daily is the spirit of many young people - women and men - in the workplace! It is especially so for many young mothers, who are moms of kids from toddler to college age. It pertains to an increasingly out of whack balancing of a stressful work environment , where the demands to excel are increasingly conflicting with the duty of childcare, education and well-being of the family unit!


In the Sunday Message, I will go in depth into Anxiety and other issues and how to deal with them, using the Word of God. Today, I wish to briefly look at one side of this equation to inspire any mom reading this to not let the hyper-caffinated daily drumbeat devour her in a hostile, oppressive environment.  


"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?" 1 Corinthians 6:19 (New American Standard Bible).

More and more women in the workforce are being viewed as sex objects and I have witnessed this first hand. Most men like myself have no problem with women supervisors as most of my own supervisors have been women. Having been brought up by a single mother (after my dad died when I was 11), I have nothing but respect for women.


But what is disconcerting, after a generation where the clouds of "sexual harassment" hung over the workplace (especially after the 1980's and 1990's Tailhook and Clarence Thomas scandals), is a brand new paradigm of "whatever"! This paradigm is powered by the ease and seemingly lack of accountability in social media relationship; sleazy reality shows on almost EVERY TV channel in America and a culture where more and more young women are using their bodies shamelessly.


As a result, because some working and/or professional women find themselves stretched by the demands to help pay (with their husbands, if they are married) the bills; pick up the kids at daycare or run Joey to football practice, they are sitting ducks for exploitation. What I am witnessing with great shock, is the ease some of this is manifesting itself in flirting, inappropriate lunch dates and extra-marital flings. To be sure, any man who has an affair with a married woman is both culpable and out of his mind.


While yesterday's message was on "Crushing", today's focus is all about on "Respect"....namely - "Self - respect". Nothing can be done, in the short run, about the demands of family, if we have children. This is called life. What we can affect is our conduct.  Some of my fellow male employees have to keep their eyes in their heads and have some sense of morality, for goodness sake. Exploiting a vulnerable stressed out lady is as despicable as attacking a referee at a school soccer game for making a call against your son.


At the same time, there will be less stress in those situations, which you and I observe, could be diffused and avoided, if appropriateness in dress and demeanor is practiced. I am not picking on women here. This is a suggestion which may lead to some pigs, who call themselves men, from taking advantage. Whenever possible, we men of God also need to step in, pull some of these men aside (whether they are Christian or not) and tell them to knock it off, respectfully. In some cases, we will have no influence or opportunity as some of the men are in higher positions than we are. In this case - PRAY!! Yes, pray!


While we are at it, let's pray for families; latch-key kids and all moms of all ages who have to work just to survive and make ends meet, just like the rest of us. Remember...the Key Word for today is  RESPECT....and it all starts with knowing who you are in Christ and WHOSE YOU ARE! Once this is understood, we can handle any situation! Agreed?


"....but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin..."1 John 1:7 (NASB).